Tosh for ARTBOOK /D.A.P. on "Philip Guston Now" & "Poor Richard"

June 5, 2020 (In The Year of the Trump Virus)

June 5, 2020 (In The Year of the Trump Virus)

Today there are 1,445 new cases, and 36 died today from the Trump Virus.  Atwater Village, my neighboring community, is remaining the same with 52 cases total, but where I live, Silver Lake now has 204 cases.   It was under 200 yesterday for Silver Lake.  Glendale, not that far from me, has 1,040 cases total, and today there are eight more who are confirmed to have the virus. Another person died as well, so now the death is 92.  The total in the County of Los Angeles is 61,045 cases and 2,565 deaths.

For me, this reads stay at home and keep away from people. Yet, people do need to live and eat, and therefore they take chances by going back to work and opening businesses.  People who do go out in the world are not only endangering their health, but also others.  Dog eats dog, but do they like the taste of the virus in their mouth?

Lun*na, throughout the afternoon, has been working on the Philip Guston video I made for Artbook / D.A.P.   That should be finished by tonight, and then I will send it off to their main office in New York or their remote workspace.  Do offices even exist in this world?

I'm dismayed in hearing about the Police in Buffalo New York and how they are handling the demonstrators.   There are reports that the Police knocked down a senior citizen who found himself on the pavement with blood coming out of his ear.   The attitude of the Police was to walk past him, but a police officer or two were called for their actions.  Amazingly enough, the entire police squad resigned in support of their fellow cops.  Does one wonder if they work for the public's behalf or support their family, the gang, known as the Police?

June 4, 2020 (In The Year of the Trump Virus)

June 4, 2020 (In The Year of the Trump Virus)

Today there are 1,469 new cases of the Trump Virus, and 44 deaths reported for today as well in the county of Los Angeles.  The city of Glendale, California, which I can see from the distance from my backyard has 1,031 cases so far and 91 deaths.  Atwater Village, which is walking distance from my home, has 52 cases and two deaths.  Where I live, Silver Lake, is still a tad under 200, with 12 deaths altogether.  I look at these reports daily, and they very much tell me what I will be doing for the next few days or weeks - staying at home to work on the film script and various writing jobs.

The good news is the neighbor's cat is back in my backyard.  She was gone for 24-hours, and I was miserable without her. I thought that a coyote caught her, and I was miserable throughout the night.  My neighbor told me this morning that they are allowing the cat to stay indoors at their home, and I was thrilled that she was alive and healthy.  I like dogs, but I love cats. Their relationship with humans is complexed interestingly.  There is equal attention paid to each other, and I feel in these days of misery, going out on the front steps and petting this gorgeous beast makes me feel good.

For the past few days, I have been reading the novel "Tapping the Source" by Kem Nunn.   The book is considered to be 'surf noir,' which may be the case, still, a real joy to read.  I've been studying surf culture as much as possible for a writing project.  The solitary surfer appeals to my sense of need to be alone during these days of a harsh life.  I feel miserable about my mom being in solitude; although I do text or call her daily, it is awful to have this border between us, yet, I don't give up the fight against the Trump Virus.  I don't live in fear or even anxiety, but more with sadness on a daily basis.

This afternoon I did another video for Artbook / D.A.P. on Philip Guston, the painter.  I love doing these little segments for my work, and it's challenging to touch on subject matters that are complexed and detailed, but within 8-minutes long.  I'm naturally a wanderer of a writer or talker, so to be confined in a timeframe is something new for me.  Kimley and I also discussed what the next book would be for our podcast Book Musik.  It isn't easy because we are committed to doing two episodes per month.  Due to the virus, we can't be in the same room, so that means we have to get an extra copy of a book for us, which so far is not that difficult. Still, the delivery and mail system is slow due to the Trump Virus.  Life has changed where we have to make plans even for a short time ahead of us.  I hear people mention that people have to live, meaning go back to their old life before the virus, but to me, living now in seclusion or being apart from the world is an intense experience. It is very much being alive and interacting with the new world.  For those who feel fear, either for the business they are losing or their lives and not to be sick - it's still a fear.  I have no fear.  I choose to live in a new world. - Tosh Berman.

June 3, 2020 (In the Year of the Trump Virus)

June 3, 2020 (In the Year of the Trump Virus)

For the past two months, my neighbor's cat has been visiting us regularly.  She hangs out by our front door, and I have spent a great deal of time hanging out with the cat on our front steps. I don't allow the cat inside, due to my wife is allergic to cat fur.  Still, when I work outside, she comes to the backyard and hangs with me. She craves attention, so I often spend time petting and chatting with her.  I haven't had a pet cat or dog since I was a child. I moved around a lot, so I never felt the need to have an animal as a pet. Also, I feel weird about owning an animal.  I know having a pet around can make you feel good, but there is something wrong about owning a living creature that bothers me to the core of my being.  Saying that now, I'm nervous that the cat is not around anymore. I looked forward to seeing her, and I don't even mind her meowing for an hour.  Her sounds are perfume to my senses.

As I write, people are demonstrating in various parts of Los Angeles and the world.  Mostly peaceful, and the other day, on my way to my mother's house to drop off some goods, I saw a bunch of kids with their parents doing their version of a march in the neighborhood.  Things may move on, but I do feel that there is significant damage to President Virus, and he may not survive this time.  I say that, because I sense a mood in the air, and I think people are tired of his lies, lack of character, and just being under the attack of this over-grown spoiled child in a man's body.

Today, I worked on a Philip Guston video talk, which hopefully will take place tomorrow.   I'm also working on a film script, and I need to make some significant changes in its structure.  I never worked with other people in a writing job, and I'm learning a lot in how to compromise and hopefully make a better script. I feel like F. Scott Fitzgerald or William Faulkner when they were hired by a Hollywood studio to become a scriptwriter.   The glamour of such work is a turn-on for me.  It's different from working by yourself for a book project or essay.

As of this writing (5 PM ), there are 1,155 new cases of the virus and 46 deaths in Los Angeles County.